snoddy



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

J. T. SNODDY.

WAGON END GATE. No. 369,819. Patented Sept. 13, 1887.-

19% ease/o v I v gvwemt oz N. PETERS, mum-un m lwr. Washington. D. c.

NITED STATES PATENT twinge JAMES T. SNODDY, OF MOUNT PLEASANT, IOWA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO THE WESTERN WVHEEL SCRAPER COMPANY, OF SAME PLAGE.

WAGON END-GATE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 869,819, dated September 13, 1887.

Application filed May 11,1887. Serial No. 237,878. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JAMES T. SNoDDY, of Mount Pleasant, in the county of Henry and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in End-Gates for Wagons; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the invention, sucl1 as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to an improvement in end-gates for wagons.

Hitherto a class of end-gates has been constructed in which a hasp secured near the outer edge of a cleat hinged to the rear end of one side-board of the wagon was adapted to hook over a staple located on a vertical cleat of the end-gate. Considerable objection has arisen to this particular construction, owing to the fact that the haspin its unprotected position was continually liable to be wrenched entirely off or out of shape.

The object of my present invention is to provide a reliable fastening the position of which 2 shall be such as not to receive injury.

A further object is to provide a double fastening for the gate, so that in case one should break or become otherwise ineffectual the other will hold.

A further object is to provide an end-gate which shall serve the double purpose of closing the end of the wagon and also of holding the side-boards of the wagon-box together.

A further object is to provide an end-gate which the jarring of the wagon will not displace, and one which may be easily removed from the wagon-box regardless of the contents of the wagon wedging and pressing against it.

WVith these ends in view my invention con- 0 sists in certain features of construction and V combinations of parts, as will be hereinafter fully described,and pointed out in the claims. In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a view in perspective of the rear end of a 5 wagon-box with my improved end-gate applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a similar view with the parts open and end-gate removed. Fig. 3 is a detached view showing the construction of the stationary end cleats. Fig. 4 is a modifi- 5o cation.

A represents awagon-box, having the ordinary side-boards, B B. On the interior side and near the rear end of the side-board B the cleatsO O are located parallel to each other, so as to form the intervening space, a. The 5 5 cleat O is of peculiar construction, it being provided with notches 1), preferably two in number, and formed on the inner edge of the cleat. The said notches b, when but two in number, are formed by cutting away the inner and forward faces of the ends of the cleat (J, and to add strength and rigidity these rounded or beveled portions formed thereby are desirably constructed of metal or metal faces.

Similar to cleat O, and located in a corre- 6 sponding position on the opposite side-board B,is the ole-at D. To the rear of this cleat D, and occupying the same relative position to cleat D which cleat 0 does to O opposite, a

hinged hasp is located. The hasp Eis of such construction that it is formed integral with and at right angles to one wing of the hinge E, the latter being preferably constructed in the form of an ordinary butt-hinge ofa length corresponding to the width of the side-board 7 upon which it is placed, though this partic ular construction is by no means absolutely necessary-as, for example, the hinge portion E" might be cut away at the middle,or it might not be as long as the side-board is wide. The hasp E is ofordinary construction,having near its free end the longitudinally-located slot (1 and a latch, e, pivoted on itsouter face near the hinged portion. The width of the hinge portion E is sufficient to throw the hasp E 8 against the end-gate when in closedadj ustment; and to lend general neatness and uniformity to the wagon I usually prefer to have the cleat- Drigidly secured on the outside of the hinge E.

The end-gate F is rounded or beveled at one 0 end,f, so it may be easily adjusted in place and provided with a plate, G, terminating on one of its edges in the laterally curved or hooked projections g, which are adapted to fit in the notches b. The end-gate is adjusted to the wagon in the a following manner: The projections g are first placed in the space a between the cleats G G, where, as the free end of the end-gate F is swung laterally against cleat D, they hook in the notches b, thus locking the end securely against any displacement,except by the backward motion, the reverse of which was just described. To lock the opposite end of the gate F,the hasp E is shut against it until the staple H extends through the slot d,where it is held by the latch e hooking into the staple H.

By the use of the end-gate described the necessity of having the accustomed rod for holding the sides in place is avoided, and it will also be seen that any amount ot'jolting of the wagon will not throw the end-gate out of place. 7

In the modification shown in Fig. 4 the cleat G is provided with a slotted rearwardly-turned plate, 0, the slots 0 of which receive the pro-.

jections g of the end-gate,the latter being considerably hooked to form a secure fastening in the plate a. Preferably near its middle the wing E, forming part of the hasp E, is provided with the vertical slot 0, which slot, when the hinge portion of hasp E is shut, is adapted to receive the upwardly-turned end h of the'bolt H. This bolt H rests loosely in the end of the side-board B, and is preferably hooked at its outer end, h, to form a handle,

and provided near the middle with the screwthreads 7L2, upon which the handle-nut I turns. When the hasp E has closed against the endgate, the bolt H is given a quarterturn until the end h, which was previously vertical, becomes horizontal. The handle-nut I is then turned until tight,the parts of the hinge portion of the hasp E being then firmly locked together. It will be seen that this form of fastening is very desirable where heavy material is being carried in the wagon, the looking of the parts of the hinge together preventing even a slight yielding of the sides, which an unusually large load might cause when no hook is used,owing to a tendency of the hasp E to be drawn out straight at its joining point a with the hinge portion.

It is evident that slight changes might be resorted to in the form and arrangement of the several parts described without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention; hence I do not wish to limit myself to the particular construction herein set forth; but,

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination, with cleats secured to one side of a wagon-box, one of said cleats having recesses therein, and a detachable endgate provided at one end with laterallycurved projections adapted to enter the recesses in the cleat, ofa hasp hinged to the opposite side of the wagon, and means for locking the hasp against the end gate, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination,with a pair of stationary cleats secured to one side of the wagon,

JAMES T. SNODDY.

\Vitnesses: Y

L. G. PALMER, II. A. AMBLER. 

